Winging It

I have been hand stitching and beading two wings for a second bird for an online class I’m taking with Kelli May Krenz.

These two wings are for my Wide Winged Bird:

I still have to complete the body but I just love how the wings turned out so I had to show you!

And speaking of bird wings, did you know there are 4 general wing shapes for flying birds?

According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these wing shapes are:

Passive soaring wings – These wings have long primary feathers that spread out, creating “slots” that allow the bird to catch vertical columns of hot air called “thermals” and rise higher in the air. Examples of birds with this wing type include eagles, most hawks and storks.

Active soaring wings – These wings are long and narrow, allowing the birds to soar, or fly without flapping their wings, for a long time. However, these birds are much more dependent on wind currents than passive soaring birds. Examples of birds with this wing type are albatrosses, gulls and gannets.

Elliptical wings – These wings are good for short bursts of high speed. They allow fast take offs and tight maneuvering. While they allow high speed, the speed cannot be maintained. Examples of birds with this wing type are crows, ravens, blackbirds, sparrows and thrushes (such as the American Robin).

High-speed wings – These wings are long and thin, but not nearly as long as birds with active soaring wings. As the name suggests, birds with this wing type are incredibly fast, but unlike those with elliptical wings, these birds can maintain their speed for awhile. Examples of birds that have this wing type are swifts, ducks, falcons, terns and sandpipers.

I hope you enjoyed this little lesson about bird wing shapes!

Spread your wings and soar today!

Note: Still more stitching and beading of the bird’s body so stay tuned for a future post!

Happy Wednesday!

Cheers! 😃

Bob The Blob Bird

Today’s weird bird is definitely WEIRD!

Bob The Blob Bird

I started Bob with a blob of paint.

I saw another bird in the blob:

This blob is the one I went with:

I then added some collage papers for the wing, tail and beak. Next, I added some details with acrylic paint pens and finished with a black sharpie.

Sometimes it is fun to just PLAY!

How many weird birds can you find in the paint blob?

I recently read a book called, A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen. (Hint: This is where I got the idea to name my bird, Bob).

The book was an easy read and very uplifting. Bob the cat had quite the personality. If you are looking for a book to read about cats, you may enjoy this book.

Wishing you a happy weird bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 😃

Hello Dahlia!

My neighbor grows the most beautiful Dahlia flowers…

She recently gave me a bouquet and I wanted to share them with you!

The colors, shapes and patterns are just dazzling, aren’t they?!

Perhaps you may also enjoy these imaginary flowers that I created in my large handmade journal:

I created them in a variety of art mediums; such as paper collage, ink pens and watercolor crayons.

May ALL these flowers inspire YOU in your art or just brighten your day!

Cheers! 😃

A Large Handmade Journal

This summer I want to work in several art journals and a couple of other projects while I take a weird bird break.

I started this handmade journal last November when I took an online class with Pam Garrison. It is made with 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the pages in a video before I fill them:

The journal size measures 15.25 inches in length by 11 inches in width for each page.

As you can see in the video, I made some marks on some of my pages as a starting off point.

Here are a few pages I’ve been working on:

I used stencils with watercolor in the bottom of the first page. And the page below is shown closed over the above page with some doodles and a butterfly.

Sometimes I like experimenting with collage and adding a quote:

A fish collage using my Gelli-printed papers inspired by the artist, Clare Youngs:

I used the watercolor circles to experiment with drawings in color pencils. And I added some whimsical lettering:

The insert papers are good for experimentation also. I used a stencil for the first one and collage for the second photo.

I was inspired by a wall calendar by the artist, Caroline Simas for the page below. I liked her color choices:

I am experimenting with collage, color pencils and water soluble crayons for this page…it is a work in progress! I find circles meditative.

I hope my art journal inspires you in your own art making.

What art projects are you working on? I’d love to hear about them!

Cheers!

A Conundrum

Today’s weird bird is a Conundrum…

It is a bit puzzling!

Is it a fish?

Or a bird?

Perhaps I should just call it a Conundrum!

I had fun creating my weird bird today with stencils from StencilGirl Club using watercolor and make-up sponges!

Who knew this could be a great way to stencil on watercolor paint!

I do need a little different watercolor tray with larger wells so I can dip my sponge directly into the paint and use less water. (Less water means less bleeding under my stencil).

I finished my Conundrum with color pencils and a white gel pen.

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers!

A Little Of This And That

I started a doodle painting recently for an online class I’m taking with Jennifer Mercedes. It is on 24″ x 24″ gessoboard.

It does have a bird in it, although not terribly weird! Can you find it?

I’m not sure about these colors… what do you think? I’m painting with acrylics.

I will add some other colors this week and show you my progress next week.

I wanted to show you a little of this and that I have been doing this last week.

A turtle jigsaw puzzle I recently completed:

It was a challenging puzzle but fun!

And a view of the lake in the winter:

Happy Wednesday!

Cheers! 😃

A Puzzler

Did you know that January is national puzzle month?

I have completed one 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle with Happy Buttons:

And I am working on a second one with Houseplants:

Sometimes my weird birds start out like a puzzle:

I started this trio in watercolor. Then I added a little paper collage:

Next, some details with color pencils:

And finished with pencil shading:

What kind of puzzles do YOU like to work on?

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 🙂

Jingle Jangle

Two little birds flew in to jingle jangle their bells last night…

Hoping your holidays are a delight!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Friends!

Cheers! 🙂

A Carnival Ride

My mark making has the feel of being on a carnival ride…

I started this doodle over a month ago and just finished it Saturday:

I used Micron pens and a new set of Uni-ball fineliner drawing pens.

Perhaps it influenced this one in my sketchbook with Copic Markers and Micron pens:

And the bright colors of watercolor, Neocolor crayons and Copic Markers in this one, definitely make me feel like having some cotton candy! Lol!

Sometimes life can feel a little like a carnival ride with its unexpected twists and turns.

I find creating marks and patterns quiets my mind and helps me tune out life’s stressful times.

Peace be with you! 🙂

Cheers!

Springing Forward

Sunday, we set our clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time, giving us an extra hour of light in the evenings. Yay!

According to the Washington Post; 70 countries change their clocks mid year for Daylight Saving Time including most of North America, Europe and parts of South America and New Zealand. China, Japan, India and most countries near the equator don’t fall back or jump ahead.

Today’s weird bird is Springing forward with a bouquet of blooms to give you a smile!

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 🙂